Lynn C. Woolsey: “Mr. Chairman, I strongly rise in support of the Serrano-Ramstad-Delahunt amendment. America has a 25-year commitment to…”

“Mr. Chairman, I strongly rise in support of the Serrano-Ramstad-Delahunt amendment. America has a 25-year commitment to helping those who cannot afford legal assistance and it is outrageous that today's Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill severely cuts back on this commitment. For my colleagues who are not satisfied that every single mistake has been corrected that this legal assistance group has made in the past, I ask my colleagues, do we cut the Defense budget by 50 percent when the Defense Department loses their records and costs this country millions and billions of dollars? Of course, we do not. By providing the Legal Services Corporation with less than half of its current funding, 50 percent less, this bill is effectively denying low-income individuals, including women, seniors, and veterans access to legal advice and representation that they need, help that they must have. Mr. Chairman, Legal Services funding has a direct impact on thousands and thousands of peoples' lives, and this amendment will put some of the money back. It will help low-income individuals. It will particularly help low-income mothers, mothers who are victims of domestic violence, mothers whose fathers, husbands, their children's fathers who have abandoned them. It will help these individuals fight back and regain control of their lives.”